Does anyone with firmly diagnosed OCD have a rhyming word obession plus stopped cleaning their house?

[eee123]

I am being told I have OCD by two professionals I have recently visited, whereas for many years it had been like, they thought I was crazy and maybe schizophrenia or something like that but they didn't want to speak the words to me.  But, the new psychologist and psychiatrist I have seen recently think that I have a very unusual form of OCD. The latest pdoc even admitted that my psychologist probably couldn't help as they had probably not seen a patient with a problem quite like mine.  Pdoc admitted not having seen a patient with OCD with a presentation quite like mine. SO PERHAPS IT ISN'T OCD IF IT IS SO UNUSUAL I THINK, BUT THE DR IS ALWAYS RIGHT.  Don't OCD and psychotic disorders (and a number of other disorders) have about the same frequency in terms of percentage of the population?  So why think it is far more likely to be ocd than something else?

 

So, I am expected to believe my problem is OCD and my problem can be treated with SSRIs (Effexor he prescribed to me at 75mg a day).  He is seeing me in a few weeks for a "quick med check" as he put it, made me feel like he was totally blowing my problem off.  I get the impression that if I am not feeling better he will just shove another SSRI at me.

 

He believes that I have OCD as I have an obsession/compulsion to speak or think rhyming words constantly, I also make up words to think or say especially if I run out of rhyming real words.  I also say things I didn't think and say swear words to fight the urge to say stupid stuff.  The pdoc blew off my other symptoms which didn't fit with his OCD diagnosis such as 24x7 unexplained visual disturbances, visual hallucinations, becoming shut off from the world, not wanting to socialise, etc etc.  The pdoc said that even though people with OCD have a greater risk of psychotic disorders, as I am 36 I would not have a psychotic disorder as it would have been diagnosed much earlier.  Even though I got my first frank crazy symptoms dead on age 30 which my understanding is the average age for females to develop these symptoms.  All my attempts to get help over this period have failed.

 

Also, I know that there are many types of OCD and only some of them cause excessive cleanliness.  But, I have been very clean (not to the point of obsession, but very clean) up until my late twenties and then I just stopped bothering.  I am a pig when it comes to housecleaning.  I am wondering if there is any OCD sufferers who have a problem of speaking meaningless stuff, especially rhyming, constantly, and have also become pigs when it comes to cleaning their house?

 

I feel I am being fed bullshit by doctors because they don't know...   

[jt07]

We can't diagnosis you over the internet, and I would be inclined to accept your doctor's diagnosis. OCD manifests itself in many different ways. Yes, some people it manifests as a cleaning obsession. In my case, it manifested itself as numbers. I had to do things in multiples of 5 and never, ever do things an even number of times. I am also a pig in terms of housekeeping.

 

I don't know whether the speaking in rhyme that you have is the true clanging of psychosis or if it is OCD. There must be a reason why your doctor thinks it is OCD over psychosis. If you disagree, you should ask the doctor why he/she thinks it is OCD over psychosis.

[Wooster]

I think the rhyming words can be caused either by clang associations, which would be more indicative of a psychotic disorder, or a compulsion to say the rhyming word, which would be more indicative of OCD.

 

OCD definitely can manifest as avoiding cleaning things. Not all OCD is "scrupulous" (germs, dirt, ect). In fact, some people who have the more scrupulous form of OCD avoid cleaning as well because they can't ever get it clean enough.

 

I know that you have said you feel you have a hard time getting doctors to consider all your symptoms as fully as you would like. I would encourage you to stick with your care team. Over time as they get to know you and as you get to know them, hopefully you will develop a decent working relationship and can ask questions that help understand how your presentation is being viewed and why it is that way instead of others. Also over time it should become clear if you have a more psychotic disorder vs something else.

 

 

 

[Sync]

I don't have any rhyming compulsions, but I do have a lot of compulsions for repeating nonsense words or phrases. Often to "block out" other thoughts. 

 

I also have hoarding obsessions and compulsions, and cleaning triggers an incredible amount of fear for me, so needless to say I have a lot of trouble cleaning. 

 

I can empathize with how crappy it feels to not have your concerns taken seriously by care providers. If you feel like your current care team isn't taking you seriously or explaining their diagnoses to your satisfaction, would it maybe be possible to get a second opinion?

[iaawal]

Just wanted to chime in and say I'm a slob. 

[eee123]

I don't have any rhyming compulsions, but I do have a lot of compulsions for repeating nonsense words or phrases. Often to "block out" other thoughts. 

 

 

Hi Sync, thanks for your reply, what kind of thoughts are you trying to block out?  Mine are about thoughts of people who were unkind to me or shameful experiences.

[Sync]

Hi Sync, thanks for your reply, what kind of thoughts are you trying to block out?  Mine are about thoughts of people who were unkind to me or shameful experiences.

Shameful experiences, frequently. Like I'll think back on something I said and be really terrified that it was ACTUALLY a completely horrible thing to say despite it seeming fine at the time and that everyone hates me now and I get overwhelmed with shame and just start repeating nonsense over and over to try and "push" the thoughts/shame out. 

 

I've used it to try and push other types of obsessive thoughts out, but recently at least it's mostly been the shame thing. 

 

It's always just bizarre nonsense that has little to no connection with anything I'm actually thinking or feeling. 

[Cerelia]

I have the exact same issue! I've had it for years and always thought it was just a strange querk I had. Whenever I say little phrases, I constantly have to say something right afterwards that rhymes. Usually the words make sense, but sometimes they are made-up words. It's never really bothered me and my family laughs at some of the silly things that I say, and so do I.  Some examples when talking to my dog are:

Walk walk walk, chicken squawk 

Let's go, smoochy snow

Dinner dinner! Licky liver

Pretty girlie, chicken squirly

I have NO idea why most of them contain the word "chicken" (whether saying something to my dog or not), lol. 

The rhyming only happens with short exclamation-type phrases. 

Edited July 30, 2019 by Cerelia
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[RG33]

eee123,

Interesting.  I have not been diagnosed as OCD, but I certainly have the rhyming disorder.  The little poems don't make a lot of sense but they often come with a tune.  I haven't sat down and composed these "poems" they just materialized.  Example:  

Hitler, Hitler, Jesus Christ / Corn chips, beer, and wine. / Oh, heil Hitler, I’m not nice / But I most certainly am divine.

I usually find myself saying one of these "poems" to myself without thinking, but I don't say them when someone is around.  It is usually in response to some simple stress either good or bad.  I have worked hard to be aware of this malady and to tone it down, and now it is almost gone.  I was taking generic Zoloft when I was working on this problem; maybe it helped or maybe it didn't.  I found that many of the words in the poems make fun of our sick society:  ineffective religion, commercialism.  I.e., the poems don't make sense because the culture doesn't make sense.

Good Luck.

[RG33]

eee123,

I haven't been diagnosed as OCD, but I certainly have the OCD rhyming problem.  I am not psychotic, but the little "poems" sound like it:  Hitler, Hitler, Jesus Christ / Corn chips, beer, and wine / Oh, Heil Hitler, I'm not nice / But I most certainly am divine.

I have a set of these poems in my head, and at anytime when I am by myself, one of them may suddenly be verbalized.  To some extent the words are a complaint about religion (doesn't come to my aid) and commercialism that barrages us with senseless, numbing  trivia.  I have been on generic Zoloft for depression and anxiety, and I don't know if I should give it any credit, but I have worked hard to be aware of this "habit" and discourage it, and now I have almost eliminated it.  I wrote all of the sayings down, and when one came out, I would ask myself what I should be thinking about or doing instead of spouting out distracting crap.